Hora Hora School (Te Mai)

Education institution number:
1015
School type:
Contributing
School gender:
Co-Educational
Definition:
Not Applicable
Total roll:
236
Telephone:
Address:

22 Te Mai Road, Woodhill, Whangarei

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Hora Hora School (Te Mai)

Te Ara Huarau | School Profile Report

Background

This Profile Report was written within 25 months of the Education Review Office and Hora Hora School (Te Mai) working in Te Ara Huarau, an improvement evaluation approach used in most English Medium State and State Integrated Schools. For more information about Te Ara Huarau see ERO’s website www.ero.govt.nz

Context 

Hora Hora School is a contributing school catering for students in Years 1 to 6 in Whangārei, Northland. A special feature of the school is Te Ahurutanga, three Year 1 to 6 classes that work as a whānau and have te reo Māori, tikanga, and a Māori world view at the heart of learning. This immersion setting provides bilingual education for whānau who want this opportunity for their tamariki.

Hora Hora School’s strategic priorities for improving outcomes for learners are: 

  • we look after each other

  • wellbeing, hauora and belonging

  • delivering a curriculum that provides tamariki with every opportunity to make choices about their life’s pathways.

You can find a copy of the school’s strategic and annual plan on Hora Hora School (Te Mai)’s website.

ERO and the school are working together to evaluate firstly, how effectively the school is partnering with whānau and responding to their aspirations for their tamariki within Te Ahurutanga and secondly, how effectively is the school capturing, recording and sharing tamariki learning in a learning through play environment.

The rationale for selecting this evaluation is:

  • to honour and respond to whānau aspirations for their tamariki

  • strengthen learning partnerships with whānau to ensure they can actively support their tamariki in their learning journey

  • use professional learning and development and collaborative teaching approaches to build teacher capability in a learning through play pedagogy

  • ensure the capturing of learning through play assessments are valid, manageable and sustainable.

The school expects to see:

  • learning through play assessment processes document the progress, growth, and development of tamariki at the foundation level of the New Zealand Curriculum

  • equitable outcomes for all tamariki

  • tamariki supported to confidently speak te reo Māori and extend their reo

  • evidence of strengthened whānau learning partnerships and whānau actively contributing to their tamariki’s learning journey

  • learning outcomes shared with tamariki, whānau and with teachers as they progress through the school.

Strengths

The school can draw from the following strengths to support its goals to respond to whānau aspirations for tamariki and to effectively capture, record and share play-based learning outcomes:

  • wellbeing, hauroa and the school’s underlying value “we look after each other” are well enacted for everyone in the Hora Hora community

  • a strong sense of belonging and connection where tamariki are proud to be Māori and experience learning programmes that promote success for Māori as Māori

  • leaders’ and teachers’ skills and strengths are acknowledged and used to provide leadership opportunities.

Where to next?

Moving forward, the school will prioritise:

  • continuing to develop learner focussed relationships with whānau

  • enacting a local curriculum that interests and excites tamariki to support equity and excellence

  • embedding and sustaining collaborative teaching practice across the school

  • further embedding our collective philosophy and shared responsibility for all tamariki.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

1 June 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement.  educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Hora Hora School (Te Mai)

Board Assurance with Regulatory and Legislative Requirements Report 2022 to 2025

As of June 2022, the Hora Hora School (Te Mai) Board has attested to the following regulatory and legislative requirements:

Board Administration

Yes

Curriculum

Yes

Management of Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Personnel Management

Yes

Finance

Yes

Assets

Yes

Further Information

For further information please contact Hora Hora School (Te Mai), School Board.

The next School Board assurance that it is meeting regulatory and legislative requirements will be reported, along with the Te Ara Huarau | School Evaluation Report, within three years.

Information on ERO’s role and process in this review can be found on the Education Review Office website.

Shelley Booysen
Director of Schools

1 June 2023 

About the School

The Education Counts website provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement. educationcounts.govt.nz/home

Hora Hora School (Te Mai) - 28/09/2016

1 Context

Hora Hora School continues to provide good quality education. Te Ahurutanga is a recently established bilingual and immersion Māori setting within the school catering for whānau who want this learning opportunity for their tamariki.

Since the 2013 ERO review the school has experienced significant roll growth. Half the student population travel from outside the local area to the school. The board is currently managing the construction of ten new classrooms. At the time of this evaluation a new board, with governance experience, had just been elected.

2 Equity and excellence

The vision and valued outcomes defined by the school for all children are documented in the school's charter. These are linked to developing a healthy community, where everyone is happy and confident enough to ask questions, to think deeply and to make informed choices. School values include respect, honesty and developing a positive attitude to learning.

The school’s achievement information shows that overall about two thirds of children perform at or above the National Standards in reading. Similar levels of achievement have been evident in mathematics between 2012 and 2014. Improved performance in 2015 is also evident, with over 70 percent of children now achieving at or above the expected standard in mathematics. Student achievement in writing has consistently exceeded success rates in reading and mathematics over the past few years, with around 80 percent of children at or above the standard in this learning area.

Māori student achievement is consistent with school-wide achievement levels, with particularly good increases in writing performance noted for these learners in 2015. There is, however, some evidence of gender differences in school data, with girls overall achieving at higher levels than boys, particularly in writing and to a lesser extent in reading. School leaders are now planning to undertake longitudinal tracking of the achievement of groups of children over time in a range of curriculum areas.

Since the last ERO evaluation the school has continued to promote improved learner outcomes through:

  • resourcing a broad curriculum that provides for children's emotional, social, academic and physical wellbeing
  • professional development that helps teachers improve their cultural competence to enable them to teach Māori learners and engage with whānau more effectively
  • external professional development and internal sharing of expertise in a range of areas including reading, writing and mathematics aimed at improving teaching practice
  • introducing a school-wide reading programme that focuses on teaching specific reading strategies for those children who need extra support with their learning
  • engaging whānau in learning partnerships, particularly with a view to improving children's reading skills.

3 Accelerating achievement

How effectively does this school respond to children whose learning and achievement need acceleration?

School leaders and teachers are becoming increasingly effective in implementing practices that respond well to children whose learning needs accelerating. These include early identification of children at risk of not achieving; ongoing monitoring of progress made; and thoughtful consideration by teachers that helps them identify children's next learning steps. These next steps are discussed with parents to enable them to support their child at home.

School achievement information is well analysed and useful recommendations for improving educational outcomes are made to the board. It would be useful to now consider how some of this data analysis could be further used to highlight and focus more explicitly on the needs of groups whose progress most needs accelerating. Continuing to strengthen the collective responsibility of adults for children at risk of not achieving could also have a beneficial impact on their achievement.

The board is committed to resourcing programmes that promote equity and excellence for learners, and provides well for children at risk of not achieving and those with high learning needs. Support programmes for learners with special educational needs are flexible and responsive. Well considered teaching strategies complemented by relevant learning support programmes are contributing to children's accelerated progress. Capable teacher aides work with teachers to provide in-class and withdrawal support, as appropriate, for individuals and small groups.

Teachers are well supported through ongoing professional development and guidance provided by school leaders to make valid and reliable judgements about children's progress and achievement.

4 School conditions

How effectively do the school’s curriculum and other organisational processes and practices develop and enact the school’s vision, values, goals and targets for equity and excellence?

The school's curriculum, practices and processes link well to the vision, values, goals and priorities outlined in the school charter.

The school charter emphasises students achieving success within a broad and inclusive curriculum. The board works collaboratively with the principal to ensure resourcing is strategically allocated to support ongoing improvement in teaching and learning. The newly elected board provides continuity with the previous board and brings a range of professional skills to support the work of the school.

The school's vision and values inform decision making by school leaders and the board. Valued outcomes for children are strongly evident in the positive and respectful interactions and relationships between staff and children. Parents spoken to by ERO feel welcome at school and value the approachability of staff.

The school is led by an experienced principal and he is well supported by his senior leadership team. Collaborative leadership ensures that there is a strong culture of professional learning. School leaders and teachers deliberately focus on improving teaching practice for better learning opportunities for children. Teacher appraisal processes and teachers' inquiry into the effectiveness of their practice have been strengthened. Leadership of the curriculum is distributed across teaching teams to build individual and collective leadership capacity throughout the school.

Children are keen to learn and benefit from school conditions that foster positive attitudes to lifelong learning. The long-standing school motto of 'we look after each other' is well known by children and their families. Māori concepts such as manaakitanga and whanaungatanga are well understood.

The school's bicultural curriculum is strong and local contexts, such as marae visits, feature strongly in children's learning experiences. Te reo me ōna tikanga Māori practices are becoming increasingly embedded within school life. Leaders engage with local kaumatua and value their knowledge and expertise. Many teachers participate in professional learning to improve their te reo Māori. Leaders agree it would now be timely to develop a progression of learning to guide and grow the school's te reo Māori programme.

The recently established Te Ahurutanga bilingual and immersion Māori facility for those whānau who want this for their tamaiti/mokopuna further reflects the school's commitment to biculturalism. The board resources personnel for this unit, including a kaiawhina, who are speakers of te reo. Teachers are using Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the national curriculum for Māori-medium settings, to develop curriculum and assessment processes. Hui with whānau enable teachers to share information and gather whānau aspirations for their children as part of work to establish and sustain a responsive child-centred learning environment.

Children participate in a broad-based curriculum that prioritises literacy and mathematics. The board funds a specialist staff member for physical education. This initiative is having a positive impact on children's attitudes towards physical activity. Children have good access to information communication technologies (ICT) that help support them with their learning.

School leaders have recently restructured the junior school in response to a comprehensive internal evaluation. They have introduced a developmental teaching approach that:

  • fosters oral language and interactions
  • enables children to access the curriculum through play
  • is setting children up for success and further learning.

The programme is underpinned by research and Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum, with teachers working with local early childhood providers to develop their knowledge of effective teaching in the preschool sector. These relationships with local providers are also strengthening transition processes as children move from early childhood services to begin their compulsory schooling.

Educationally powerful connections with parents continue to be prioritised especially in reading. Parents participate in a programme that helps them use effective reading strategies with their child at home. They are also involved in discussions with the child and teachers about relevant goal setting and purposeful next steps for learning. Parents report finding these discussions very helpful.

5 Going forward

How well placed is the school to accelerate the achievement of all children who need it?

Hora Hora School is well placed to sustain and improve the current good practices that promote equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Leaders and teachers:

  • know the children whose learning and achievement need to be accelerated
  • respond effectively to the strengths, needs and interests of each child
  • regularly evaluate how well teaching is working for these children
  • act on what they know works well for each child
  • build teacher capability effectively to achieve equitable outcomes for all children
  • are well placed to achieve and sustain equitable and excellent outcomes for all children.

Leaders and ERO have identified relevant priorities for development that include:

  • continuing to develop student-centred approaches, including practices for helping children to have a greater understanding of their own achievement and next learning steps
  • strengthening critique and evaluation of achievement information to further enable leaders and teachers to identify the impact of programmes and initiatives designed to accelerate children's progress with learning.

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

6 Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO board assurance statement and Self Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to the following:

  • board administration

  • curriculum

  • management of health, safety and welfare

  • personnel management

  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student safety and wellbeing:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)

  • physical safety of students

  • teacher registration

  • processes for appointing staff

  • stand down, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions

  • attendance

  • compliance with the provisions of the Vulnerable Children Act 2014. 

7 Recommendation

ERO recommends that the school continue to develop educationally powerful connections with children, staff, whānau and early childhood providers to further build on Hora Hora School's vision and approaches for promoting equity and excellence in outcomes for learners. 

Graham Randell

Deputy Chief Review Officer Northern

28 September 2016

About the school

Location

Whangarei

Ministry of Education profile number

1015

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

414

Gender composition

Boys 54% Girls 46%

Ethnic composition

Māori

Pākehā

Pacific

Asian

74%

21%

3%

2%

Review team on site

June 2016

Date of this report

28 September 2016

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

January 2013

November 2009

November 2006

Hora Hora School (Te Mai) - 21/01/2013

1 Context

What are the important features of this school that have an impact on student learning?

Hora Hora School, located on the outskirts of Whangarei, has historic links with the local community. The long established Year 1 to 6 school is led by an experienced principal and committed management team. Many of the staff have had lengthy association with the school. The well maintained buildings and grounds provide an attractive setting for students’ education.

The school welcomes whānau and community involvement. The majority of students are Māori and confidently identify their iwi and hapu connections. The transition of students entering the school is well managed and good foundations for learning are established in junior classrooms. Bilingual education in Years 5 and 6, and an emphasis on te reo and tikanga Māori support Māori students to succeed.

The school has a positive and inclusive tone. Staff are valued for their work and contributions. Regular professional development supports teachers to improve teaching and learning practice. School values are well understood and are clearly evident in the positive relationships between teachers and children. Trustees on the school board take an active and informed role in governance and contribute to ongoing improvements in the school’s performance.

2 Learning

How well does this school use achievement information to make positive changes to learners’ engagement, progress and achievement?

Achievement information is well used to celebrate students’ learning progress. Teachers gather data about progress and achievement to identify and address student learning needs. Teachers have good planning and assessment systems that they use to support students’ learning. Classroom planning is differentiated so that students are provided with programmes that target and challenge their learning requirements.

The school welcomes all students including those with disabilities and identified learning and behaviour needs. A large number of teacher aides are employed to provide learning support in classrooms. The school also provides a range of special programmes to support underachieving students. In reading and mathematics, students are withdrawn from class to attend small group learning programmes focused on accelerating their progress.

School-wide achievement information is well analysed. Patterns and trends are identified and reported regularly to the board. Senior managers use achievement information to:

  • track and monitor the progress of priority learners
  • evaluate the effectiveness of special programmes and interventions
  • set annual targets for improving student achievement outcomes.

Students make good progress at the school. School data show that the majority of students who have regular attendance achieve well in relation to the National Standards for reading and mathematics. Students who are below the National Standard are most often those with high transience and poor attendance. Writing is an area that the school has identified as needing to improve.

Students are becoming more aware of their own progress and achievement. They take part in three way conferences with parents and teachers where they talk about their learning. Teaching practice could be further strengthened by the more consistent use of strategies such as:

  • constructing learning expectations with input from students
  • increasing the use of formative assessment in senior classes
  • developing learning success criteria that;
    • assist students to set personalised learning goals
    • encourage independent learning.

These practices could be fostered through being incorporated into the school’s revised teacher appraisal system. A number of teachers have very good classroom practice, but the above strategies would support more consistent high quality teaching and learning. School managers are taking steps to ensure that teachers are reporting on student achievement in relation to the National Standards.

3 Curriculum

How effectively does this school’s curriculum promote and support student learning?

Students enjoy a well rounded education. Routines for learning are well established in the junior classes and a school-wide focus on literacy and numeracy supports student learning across the curriculum. Team leaders in the junior and senior school guide professional discussion about the curriculum and support teachers in each of their teams.

Students have good opportunities to organise assemblies, participate in sport and education outside the classroom, and enjoy visual and performing arts. Students are very positive about their school and contribute confidently. Many teachers enhance the curriculum and make it more relevant to students through the inclusion of tikānga and te reo Māori, and Māori contexts for learning.

Curriculum leaders should continue to review and document their expectations for delivering The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), particularly in relation to how the principles and key competencies are to be developed across all learning activities and programmes. The board's curriculum policies and plans should be updated to reflect the school's curriculum overview. A more detailed framework could be developed to guide expectations for delivering the NZC across the school. Managing these expectations would help to sustain the good practices in the school’s current learning programmes and provide greater accountability for implementing the New Zealand Curriculum.

How effectively does the school promote educational success for Māori, as Māori?

Māori students demonstrate pride and confidence in their cultural heritage. They succeed academically and take leadership roles in the school. Tikanga Māori is well embedded in school practices.

The Māori bi-lingual class in Years 5 and 6 provides a high quality teaching programme incorporating te reo and tikanga Māori. The programme is popular with children and whānau. Students in this class achieve well, in both in the English and te reo components of their learning.

Senior managers and trustees are clearly focused on providing a supportive and successful education for Māori students and meeting the aspirations of whānau. Areas where further improvement could be made include:

  • continuing to use Kā Hikitia, the Ministry of Education’s strategy for Māori Success, to review the school’s policies, goals and programmes to support Māori to succeed as Māori
  • documenting plans for sustaining and building on current good practice in promoting success for Māori.

4 Sustainable Performance

How well placed is the school to sustain and improve its performance?

The school has some good systems for improving performance. These include:

  • regular communication between managers, teachers, administrative, and support staff
  • comprehensive strategic and annual planning
  • detailed reporting on student progress and achievement to the board and community
  • school goals and targets based on student achievement information.

The principal has a national and local representative role in education. As a result he is able to share current educational developments with staff, trustees and local principals. In his absence the deputy principal provides capable leadership for the school and board.

The senior management team is working with staff to implement the National Standards. They are currently focusing on moderating their assessment decisions in relation to the standards. The school has also recently introduced a new appraisal system based on the Registered Teacher Criteria. This approach has the potential to improve teacher performance by encouraging teachers to inquire into the effectiveness of their practice.

The school works closely with its community and support services. Community health and special educational services are well used to support students and their families. Teachers liaise with early childhood providers to assist children’s transition to school. Trustees take a keen interest in the school and continually seek ways to improve outcomes for all students.

To sustain and further improve school performance, the principal and trustees could:

  • make greater use of the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs) as a basis for reporting and self review
  • develop a systematic reporting schedule to align school self review with annual goals and targets
  • refine student achievement goals to provide more specific and measurable targets.

Board assurance on legal requirements

Before the review, the board of trustees and principal of the school completed the ERO Board Assurance Statement and Self-Audit Checklists. In these documents they attested that they had taken all reasonable steps to meet their legislative obligations related to:

  • board administration
  • curriculum
  • management of health, safety and welfare
  • personnel management
  • financial management
  • asset management.

During the review, ERO checked the following items because they have a potentially high impact on student achievement:

  • emotional safety of students (including prevention of bullying and sexual harassment)
  • physical safety of students
  • teacher registration
  • processes for appointing staff
  • stand-downs, suspensions, expulsions and exclusions
  • attendance.

The school currently reports to parents twice a year on student achievement in relation to NZC expectations. However, as part of the implementation of National Standards, schools are required to:

  • report to students and their parents on the student’s progress and achievement in relation to National Standards in plain language at least twice a year [National Administration Guideline 2A(a)].

School leaders are taking steps to meet these requirements.

When is ERO likely to review the school again?

ERO is likely to carry out the next review in three years.

Dale Bailey

National Manager Review Services

Northern Region

21 January 2013

About the School

Location

Woodhill, Whangarei

Ministry of Education profile number

1015

School type

Contributing (Years 1 to 6)

School roll

309

Gender composition

Boys 53%

Girls 47%

Ethnic composition

Māori

NZ European/Pākehā

Pacific

other

77%

18%

3%

2%

Special Features

Māori Bi-Lingual Class (Year 5/6)

Review team on site

October 2012

Date of this report

21 January 2013

Most recent ERO report(s)

Education Review

Education Review

Education Review

November 2009

November 2006

July 2003